Open letter: for a cycle path along the Metro line to Costa da Caparica

Opinion.

This future cycle path should be complemented by a segregated pedestrian route, so as to ensure the safety of people walking.

Metro Sul do Tejo passing through Pragal (LPP photo)

We, the Almada community and bicycle associations, demand of Metro de Lisboa, Almada City Council, Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa and the MTS that the project to extend the metro to Costa de Caparica include a continuous cycle path alongside the railroad channel. We believe that this measure will boost active travel, particularly the use of bicycles in conjunction with public transport, in Almada. This future cycle path should be complemented by a segregated pedestrian path, so as to ensure the safety of people walking.

Following the announcement, on March 25, 2024, that the Lisbon Metro will draw up the studies for the contracting of the extension of the Metro Sul do Tejo In the Costa de Caparica, more than a hundred bicycle users from Almada and national bicycle associations have come together to demand that this project include a cycle path along the light rail channel, in order to promote different modes of transport that are sustainable, safe, accessible and meet the needs of people who live, work or move around the municipality of Almada.

The surface Metro infrastructure that exists to a large extent in the municipality of Almada, built between 2003 and 2008, did not include continuous cycle paths along the Metro channels, with only small sections of cycle path that are not connected to each other, consisting of a fragmentation of the bicycle mobility system, which results in its reduced use by the population. This The Metro project was a missed opportunity to support and promote alternative forms of mobility.The aim of this project is to provide more cycling facilities to encourage people to travel in and out of the municipality of Almada. Combining sustainable means of transport such as public transport, cycling and pedestrian mobility in the same project is a way of guaranteeing a better quality of life and a more sustainable way of life. more efficient use of public funds.

The cycling infrastructure in the municipality of Almada still falls short of what was planned in the Almada Ciclável Plan of 2005, which foresaw the construction of about 200km cycling network throughout the municipality and which predicted that by 2015, 5% of journeys in the municipality would be made by bicycle. Having missed its own targets, Almada is in the process of failing to converge on the national commitment established in the National Strategy for Active Cycling Mobility 2020-2030 (ENMAC)This is due to the fact that by 2025, 4% of journeys in Almada will be made by bicycle, rising to 10% by 2030. It is therefore considered a priority and relevant that all mobility projects also guarantee the promotion and use of active modes of travel. It is also important to understand the the need not to bring these modes of transport into conflictThe priority for safety is walking, followed by cycling, which is duly segregated.

This public demand arises from the notorious lack of public interest and investment, as well as by lack of public involvement, which can easily be seen in the infrastructure projects in Almada. An example of this is the recent announcement of the widening of the IC20 road to 4 lanes, a project under the responsibility of Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) and Autoestradas Baixo Tejo (AEBT), which prompted a public outcry. public petition with over 2500 signaturesIn addition, there is a need for more public transport and more infrastructure for active mobility, rather than just roads for cars. The Almada City Council's (CMA) lack of involvement with the local community is also notorious, particularly in terms of the lack of dialogue when it comes to discussing cycle path proposals and projects. Participation would improve mobility conditions for those who cycle, but because they don't take into account the opinion and experience of those who use them, they end up producing mediocre projects that worsen the safety and comfort of those who walk or cycle. Just look at the quality of the recent redevelopment of the Cacilhas cycle pathwhose plastic "protection" pins were already badly damaged just a few weeks after the work was completed, or the Sobreda cycle path, which became known as the "Lazarim cycle path", because it is a mere red paint job on a footpath, with various physical obstacles along the way that make it difficult to use the infrastructure.

It is therefore considered pertinent and a priority, given the urgency of the climate, that we do not continue to miss opportunities to include active mobility at the heart of the strategic planning of our territory. We call on the competent authorities, namely Metropolitano de Lisboa, which is responsible for the project, but also Almada City Council, which is responsible for land management, Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (TML), which is responsible for promoting the cycling network at regional level, and Metro Transportes do Sul (MTS), which will operate the surface metro service, to proceed accordingly to include a pedestrian and cycling route. a cycle path along the metro line, in the project to extend the metro from Monte da Caparica to Costa da Caparicaand that the project has moments of public, impartial and transparent participation and discussion.

Almada, April 3rd, 2024